


Cooking Drabble:

by Noir_Valentine



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:25:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5427806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noir_Valentine/pseuds/Noir_Valentine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Valentine finds a Holo Tape with a very special memory on it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cooking Drabble:

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elvhenani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvhenani/gifts).



> Cooking Prompt:  
> OTP: Jenny and Nick  
> Drabble: Imagine your OTP making a food they like together, bonus if it includes Nick.

Nick Valentine stood in his office sorting through a war battered file cabinet. It had been a while since anyone had needed his services, and besides-he needed some time away to focus on his own synthetic wellbeing. His exposed metal fingers grazed a file named 'Found Memory'. His hand stopped on the folder's Manila colored body as he traced the upper corner for a moment. The anticipation had grown to staggering levels as he picked it up gingerly. He carefully stepped toward his desk and laid the folder down carefully. If he remembered correctly, those were holo tapes and transcripts of the real Nick Valentine's memories. Nick half smiled as he recalled hacking into the Institute's 'defective synth' database. He'd been able to quickly and efficiently download all the files with relative ease before the Institute's system booted the intrusion coded out of the mainframe.  
The folder appeared a bit more grungy than the old synth had initially remembered and his expression changed to one of contemplation and resignation. As much as Nick was thankful that he'd been personified with a good man's conscious, sometimes it was a burden too. Nick would often find himself reviewing cases and chasing leads only to realize the people involved had been dead for 200 years or more. It was realizing that the memory of people he'd loved, (Nick's mechanics whirred as he blinked a few times and sighed), well, they'd never really loved him at all. He was just a hollow, man-made, memory vessel. A lonely memory vessel...  
Nick grew restless and stood up to search the cabinet again. The holo tapes were actually in the bottom drawer locked away from prying eyes. He fumbled with the handle of the cabinet a few times before he could actually wedge it open. Aha! There they were. He pulled a few of them out and sorted through them hastily reaching one labeled 'Cooking with Jenny'. Nick's eyebrow plate moved undo his synthetic flesh and into a quizzical position, giving him the appearance of being suspicious yet intrigued. He hadn't been able to recall this particular tape's contents, and so with measured steps he made his way to the make-shift bedroom in the back of the agency. After tinkering with the opening in his cranial cavity, he was able to pop the tape into the slot reader. His main operating system shut down his external functioning capacity as his body slumped over on the mattress and he went into 'Memory Recovery' mode.  
To anyone untrained in basic mechanics, Nick appeared to be a downed husk-good for nothing more than spare parts. At this point, he wasn't aware of his surroundings and he felt himself being pulled gently toward a small glimmer of green light. As he neared it, a new scene unfolded before him. He was standing in a small yellow kitchen now, as he looked around. He heard a cheerful chatter from the next room, it didn't register for a few brief moments that the chatter was someone on the phone. He didn't worry when he caught sight of his usual battered self in the reflection from the metal appliances. The people involved wouldn't be seeing or reacting to synth Nick. Instead-it was completely pre-war Nick Valentine oriented. After a moment a young woman in her mid to late 20's appeared from another room. She paused in the doorway and inspected him quietly with wide eyes before a grin broke across her face.  
"Are you okay Jenny?" Nick asked in concern.  
"Oh Nicky! I'm so glad you could make it over for dinner! I have the ingredients on the counter if you want to start by slicing some garlic up...I have to go do something really quick..."  
Nick smiled. Jenny was a pretty girl and Nick Valentine had been a lucky man to have her in his life. Nick's smile faded as he stared in wonder at the counter. None of this had been poisoned by radiation, or mutated by gamma rays and Institute DNA splicing yet. It was a marvel to see and Nick was delighted to do as he was asked-if only he understood what Jenny wanted. What was garlic again? Nick's eyes moved from grocery item to grocery item-what was garlic? He had hoped that looking over them would trigger another association. After a moment of searching over the produce, his eyes rested on a small white clove of-  
"Garlic." Nick said with a faint smile. He grabbed a knife from a drawer on his left and sat it next to a small wooden cutting board. Nick made quick work of peeling the exterior of the garlic clove, and then chopping it into fine pieces. A foggy thought emerged as he did so. This was a dish he liked...but what was it called? He scratched his head thoughtfully, and waited until he saw Jenny emerge from the other room once more. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she hummed (a little off key) to the radio. She crossed the room and washed her hands in the sink before turning to Nick.  
"Thanks! I had to go freshen up, I forgot you got off work early today..." She blushed pastel pink, but something was off... Nick put his hands on her shoulders for reassurance.  
"You always look great, Jen." He said playfully. Jenny blushed again but laughed. It felt good in these memories, Nick observed, watching Jenny move gracefully to the stove and stir something in a metal pot. Better than good, actually. His curiosity got the better of him and he joined her by the stove, putting an arm around her hip as he stood next to her. She smiled up at him and stopped stirring a chunky red mixture. Nick scowled. What was that?! Jenny stared at him intensely.  
"Want a bite?" She asked softly putting a small amount on a wooden spoon and holding her hand under it to stop any possible spills. Nick stared down at it in confusion. On one hand, he did want to try it, but on another-he wasn't sure he trusted anything that red. Jenny's smile faded and she sighed lowering the spoon. Nick's robotic heart fell and he picked it up again. She gazed over to him inquisitively as he lifted the spoon to his mouth. The synth smiled and took the small amount of red paste into his mouth. He was surprised he had been equipped with taste receptors as he staggered back and his eyes widened. Whatever that paste was, it was delicious! It had a robust savory flavor he couldn't place. There was a mix of spice he couldn't quite name too! Jenny moved forward in a panic grabbing his arm.  
"Nick!? Are you okay!?!" Jenny's voice was panicked and strained as she spoke. Nick nodded in the affirmative. He reigned himself in and spoke as calmly as he could.  
"What was that?! It's wonderful!" Nick said, his voice growing in excitement. Jenny grinned in amusement.  
"Tomato sauce...we still need to add in the garlic..." She said gently as Nick gathered the cutting board and pushed the mince garlic into the pot. Instinctively he closed the lid and switched the stove to simmer. Jenny leaned against the counter watching him, a small grin playing at her lips. She informed him she had already put in sliced onion and green pepper. Nick nodded without hearing her. Instead, he was eager to move on to the next order of business. Jenny moved to the icebox and removed a small tray of ground meat. Nick watched as she pulled a pan from a cabinet and placed it on the stove as well. She handed him a spatula and instructed that he cut the eye of the stove on to around a setting of 7 or 8. Nick did as he was told dutifully.  
"Okay, now brown this up really good. You can add some pepper to it if you want. She said handing him a shaker of ground pepper. Nick stared at it, finally adding it to the meat. Jenny placed a pot of boiling water on the eye behind the pot of tomato paste and added hard yellow sheets of noodles to it. Once everything was done and the stove was cut off, Jenny coached Nick on placing the noodles in the glass baking dish, layering the meat and tomato sauce, and then adding shredded mozzarella cheese to it. Nick finished the second layer himself and stuck it in the oven to bake. She began to speak when suddenly Nick grabbed her hands in is own and pulled her to him. He kissed top of her head and released her.  
"How'd I do?" He asked averting his eyes. He was fishing for a compliment and knew it sounded desperate.  
"Nice work, Detective Valentine." She said teasingly wrapping her right hand in a small pink handkerchief. Nick watched her for a moment. He smiled as he noted the feminine embroidery. A heart with an arrow through the outer outline that said 'I love you!' on it. He tussled her long dark hair playfully.  
"What's wrong, Jen?" He asked slowly. A look of pain had flashed across her features for a moment. Jenny looked up at him with a wry smile.  
"Burned my hand is all-It'll be okay though." She said as the pair waited at the dinner table talking about nothing in particular, Nick fell silent. The memory would end soon and it would be much easier to withdrawal now as opposed to later...Jenny sensed the shift in conversation and reached for him. He pulled away dejectedly, causing Jenny to rise quickly. As he sat quietly she stood over him and pulled him into a hug. She took Nick off guard and he let out a small gasp. Jenny leaned over until they were eye to eye. She took his head in her hands gently.  
"Nick...", his eyes flicked away from hers but she continued softly, "Nicky...I love you. I mean it. I always will..."  
Nick made a noise of dismissal in his throat before cracking a sad smile.  
"Maybe not always." He said looking at himself in the synth body. In his moments of self loathing, Jenny tilted his head back and gave him a few gentle kisses on the mouth and cheek.  
"Always. No matter the circumstances. I need you to know that always. Okay?" Her voice was pleading and Nick relented after his eyes met hers. He was about to lean in for one more kiss when the timer went off. Jenny jumped away from him and pulled him from the chair and into the kitchen. He followed behind grabbing two plates, and setting them on the counter near the baking dish. Jenny handed him a fork and smiled encouragingly after a few minutes. He dug the fork into the dish and pulled up a mouthful of delicious...LASAGNA! It was his favorite food from before the war. He happily crammed it into his mouth as Jenny stood at the silverware drawer with her back to him.  
He still didn't know that she could see what he really was. She chanced a peek at Nick and stifled a giggle. He was currently helping himself to a third bite of lasagna. It was nice that would never change. She sighed. She'd been on the phone with Nick, unaware of her visitor at first. She had been confused and fearful, but she'd remembered the Institute doctor had told her after the experiment she may have some side effects from the procedure...

 

\---------Flash Back--------  
"Seeing as to how this is a beta test of a highly experimental program you may experience the following: Temporary amnesia, headaches, time lapses, nausea, cou-" Jenny cut the doctor off sharply.  
"Excuse me? 'Time Lapses'? What is that?" She asked as he unhooked her head from the machine behind her. The doctor sighed in impatience helping her up from the table.  
"A brief time period in which you can interact with another moment in time, but I don't think it'll be a problem anyway-it's just, we don't know the capability of cybernetics just yet..." He'd gone silent before speaking again.  
"Should I sync the data with anyone else's, ma'am?"  
Jenny had been confused by the question, but had written her fiancé's name in the blank provided.  
She never told Nick about it, besides why make him worry?  
\-------------------------------

Jenny shook her head to clear her thoughts.  
She hadn't started seeing this...Version... of Nick until months after she'd had the procedure done. It was only brief glances as she dreamed too, never this...intimate. Luckily, she had recognized this as a time lapse and had gone about the whole thing as normally as possible.  
She'd hastily gotten off the phone with Nick. He couldn't get off early after all and so she was going to put the ingredients away she'd bought for lasagna. When she'd encountered the robotic man in the kitchen, she'd given pause to figure out how to proceed. When the being in her kitchen had smile back, she'd briefly seen a glimpse of her own Nick in him. When he'd spoken out she was sure it was him. She needed a few moments to compose herself and after setting him to a small task she raced to the restroom to collect herself before interacting further. She felt as if he didn't want her to see whatever he was turned into, and like a proper considerate lady had tried to act accordingly. She had returned to the kitchen to find the task complete. There had been instances of playful banter as they cooked. Jenny had enjoyed it...  
She winced as her burned hand scraped a fork in the drawer. He hadn't noticed his mistake, she noted quietly-the moment she had turned to give him the oven mitts and he had already shoved his hands in the oven, rearranging the pan for a moment and resting his right hand on the metal stove shelf grating. Jenny knew her mouth had fallen open, but she had recovered before he had looked back up. He hadn't though about how hot metal on heated metal would become when he had grabbed her hands in his own. She had bit her lip in pain and forced herself not to cry as the metal burned into her flesh.  
She watched in horror as it steamed in his grasp. He had meant well by kissing the top of her head. He only wanted a little praise, and so she had tried to remain happy or at least neutral as her hand throbbed and she teased him good-naturedly. She had been wrapping the affected hand in her handkerchief when he realized something was amiss as they had made their way to the table. The lighthearted mood had been broken by his sudden mood shift. Jenny had tried to pull him out of it, she hated when Nick became brooding.  
She reached out for him only to be rejected as he pulled away. Jenny had a vague idea of how to pacify the beat up man in front of her. She'd done her best to pull him from his own thoughts. She had slipped a clean handkerchief similar to the one on her hand into his shirt pocket when she had kissed him. He hadn't noticed. She hoped that wherever he really belong the handkerchief would remind him he was important and loved too. The timer had scared her, pulling her away from him and forcing her to instead focus on dinner. She stood lost in thought at the sink As Nick finished off the dish of lasagna.  
This memory was ending soon, and Nick had a desperate idea. Retrieving a business card from his pocket he quickly scrawled a message onto the back and slipped it into Jenny's pocket. The old synth hugged her once more and gave her a kiss on her cheek before he jolted out of recovery mode on his mattress at the agency in Diamond City. He went to pop the tape out to place back in his drawer, but it was gone! Nick scrambled from his room in a panic. Perhaps it had fallen into another part of him? He needed that memory back! Nick rushed from his home to Diamond City's best mechanic. The woman was just closing the shop as Nick rushed inside. She stared at him in alarm.  
"What's wrong, Nick?!" O'Shea cried out helping him take a seat and grabbing her tool box. Nick couldn't quite stay calm as he explained. All he could get out was the tape was missing. O'Shea did a quick thermal sweep that turned up no tape in his body anywhere. He slammed his fists into the chair in angry frustration. O'Shea stared at him unsure how to really make him feel better.  
"Maybe it was a fluke tape only good for one use?" She offered in an effort to console him. He sighed, an expression of sadness on his features. The woman hugged him with one arm.  
"If it was this important, I'll assume it made you happy-right?"  
Nick nodded and O'Shea gave him a squeeze.  
"Then be grateful you experienced it at least once, okay? God knows I this forsaken shit hole you should take all the happy you can get, and you Valentine? Hell, you deserve more than your fair share of happy for all you do for this city. Think about that tape as a rare gift."  
Nick nodded once more and thanked her for her effort to help him find it. He stepped outside just the sky opened up and rain fell in heavy droplets. Brilliant, it matched his mood. He made it back to the agency quickly and waited for the storm to pass. When it finally let up, Nick had convinced himself he hadn't really experienced anything from earlier. He scowled and grabbed a cigarette from the carton. He fumbled in his desk for a lighter. When he found one, he slipped it into his shirt pocket and left his office briefly to get a few puffs in before Ellie came back in a few hours. He had gotten situated on the porch and had just reached for his lighter when he felt something else in his pocket. It was soft...  
He pulled the object out and stared in disbelief. The handkerchief...he broke into a grateful smile and chuckled. When she had kissed him, she must have put it in his pocket...but-he felt a jolt go through his body as the tape popped out of the reader. It startled him, but he didn't want to risk putting it back into the reader. Instead he elected to watch it in the terminal in his office. Inconvenient and slow, but better chance of recovery after the fact. Nick watched in fascination and wonder as the screen sputtered on and began playing the tape. When it began, he could see Jenny standing over the drawer as someone advanced on her. It took the synth a moment to realize it was the real Nick Valentine that wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She snapped out of her trance and giggled as she hugged him back. He looked around spotting the empty baking dish. His eyes sparkled as he began to tease her.  
"I'm no ace detective, but something tells me you had company, and they ate all of my favorite lasagna..." He smiled down at her as she turned to see for herself if it was gone.  
The synth watching had a small stream of steam coming from his internal workings. He hadn't meant to eat it all...  
He peered at the screen in excitement.  
Jenny laughed, "Yes, a dear friend that I care for very much stopped by before it was done and we talked for a while. I didn't feel right not offering some, I guess they just got carried away..." She said with an embarrassed grin. Nick Valentine laughed too and took her injured hand in his unwrapping it as easily as he could. He scoffed at the second degree burn.  
"What the hell happened!?" He demanded. A tone of fear creeping into his voice.  
The synth looked down at his own skeletal frame hand and sighed. The oven, and then....damn it. He felt bad about hurting her, and the steam continued in a heavier stream.  
"Relax Nicky...I burned it in the oven accidentally, those stupid grates get really hot in case you were wondering." Jenny mumbled half jokingly. Nick nodded solemnly as he grabbed his coat and helped Jenny into hers.  
"Goodness, where are we going?" She asked as she tugged her coat on. Nick's eyes crinkled in the corners and his brown eyes glimmered in the kitchen light.  
"If you think I'm asking you to fix dinner after seeing that," he pointed to her hand, " you, Madame, are out of your mind. If we hurry we can still make it before the diner on Main Street closes though!" He started for the door as Jenny hung back. He peered over his shoulder at her questioningly. She held up her burned hand and smiled warmly to her fiancé.  
"I need to clean this and bandage it first. I'll meet you in the car." She promised as he nodded in understanding ducking out the door. She waited until she was sure he was gone.  
Synth Nick sat back in confusion this was no memory tape...if it were, the memory would have ended when Nick left the apartment...  
He watched as it continued.  
Jenny reached into her own dress pocket and pulled the worn business card from it's depths. She smiled as she flipped it over and read the note: 'I think about you all the time. I love you Jenny.' She placed the card in a floor safe, and quickly went to bandage her hand. She emerged a few moments later stopping the doorway she'd inspected him from earlier. "I love you Nick. No matter the circumstances. I meant it." She said slowly grabbing her purse and leaving the apartment quickly. The tape ejected itself once more-holes punched in the data slot. It was unusable. Nick sat frozen for a moment clutched the handkerchief.  
"I loved you too...more than lasagna, even." He said with a smile and chuckle before dropping the tape into a waste bin. It was over now, no use dwelling on it. He looked out over his office and grinned in satisfaction, besides after he finished the filing-there was always another case left to close.


End file.
